560 CFOS

Attack Open Weekend at London

Owen Sound | by
Bayshore News Staff

Three Games In 3 & 1/2 Days

Busy weekend for Bears

The Owen Sound Attack kick off a busy weekend with a trip to Budweiser Gardens on Friday night.

A match up with the London Knights at 7:30pm in London begins a stretch where the Attack will play three games in just over 72 hours, including a home game against the Oshawa Generals on Saturday night and a Family Day matinee against the Steelheads in Mississauga.

Owen Sound enters the weekend riding a five game winning streak that was extended on Wednesday night in a 4-0 victory over the Flint Firebirds.

The Attack's 37th win of the year was also netminder Michael McNiven's 11th career Ontario Hockey League shutout, which set a new Owen Sound franchise record.

His 5th shutout of the year, McNiven's 16 save performance vaulted him ahead of Jordan Binnington's 10 goose eggs on the franchise list, with 15 games left in the 2016-17 regular season.

A native of Georgetown, McNiven leads the OHL in goals against average with a mark of 2.16, which is just ahead of his Knights' counterpart Tyler Parsons' 2.25 mark.

The two goalies will face off in what will be the 5th meeting between the Attack and Knights on the year. The season series has been split thus far, with Owen Sound winning the first two match ups and London claiming the past two.

Leading the Attack into the weekend is Petrus Palmu, whose three point effort on Wednesday night propelled him to 70 points on the season and a tie for 5th in the OHL's scoring race.

On the verge of breaking into the Top 10 in league scoring are Nick Suzuki and Kevin Hancock, who both have 65 points on the season.

The Knights counter with Cliff Pu, whose 68 points in 48 games is good for 8th in the league scoring while London captain JJ Piccinich has found the back of the net 20 times and added 35 assists through 51 games this season.

Fans can listen to Friday's game live on Kia of Owen Sound/Terry's Trailer Service Bearadio on 560 CFOS.

The Attack will then turn around and jet home to the Bayshore to play host to the Oshawa Generals in another 7:30pm on Saturday evening.

Oshawa, who leads the Eastern Conference with 69 points as of Thursday, makes their lone appearance in the Scenic City this year in what is the season series finale between the two squads.

In the only previous meeting between the Attack and Generals, Oshawa was victorious by a score of 2-1 at the General Motors Centre back on Nov. 4.

Domenic Commisso leads the Generals' offensive threat with 17 goals and 34 assists in 53 games played on the year while goaltender Jeremy Brodeur sits inside the top five in both goals against average and save percentage with marks of 2.70 and .919 respectively.

Tickets are limited for Saturday night's tilt, but can be purchased at the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Attack Box Office, online at www.attackhockey.com, or by calling 519-371-7452.

Owen Sound will then wrap up their weekend with a visit to Mississauga to take on the Steelheads on Monday, Feb. 20 in a 2:00pm Family Day game.

Like Friday's contest, the game against Mississauga can be heard live on 560 CFOS.